1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shellfish processing method for taking out a muscle adductor of a scallop or meat (including a muscle adductor) or associated parts such as mantle and/or gonad of a shellfish such as an abalone from a shell, and a shellfish processing device used in such a method, for example, which method and device are suitable for automatically taking out the muscle adductor and associated parts from the scallop shell by means of a machine before the muscle adductor of the scallop is forwarded to the market.
2. Related Background Art
The shellfishes such as scallop and abalone have been forwarded to the market in various commodity forms. For example, regarding the scallop, the following commodity forms are known.
1. Raw goods with shells;
2. Raw goods in which one of shells is opened and removed and the associated parts such as midgut gland, muscle adductor, gonad and mantle are remained on the other shell;
3. Raw goods including only associated parts such as midgut gland, gonad, mantle, heart, gill and tentacle;
4. Goods including only raw muscle adductor;
5. Goods including only raw gonad (however, there is gonad only in the breeding season); and
6. Goods including raw mantle and gill.
In the goods other than the goods with the shells forwarded to the market, the gonad, mantle, muscle adductor and the like must be taken out or removed from the shells. If the removing operation is performed manually, since great labor and time are required, methods for automatically opening the shellfish and taking out the muscle adductor have been developed in order to perform the removing operation efficiently for a short time. One of such methods is a muscle adductor taking-out method shown in FIGS. 10A to 10D. Such a method is carried out as follows.
(1) An operator sets one scallop 90 horizontally on each working table attached to a belt conveyor. In this case, the scallop is set in such a manner that, among two shells 91, 92 of the scallop 90, a shell (having a shallow curvature and brown color; normally called as a right shell) 91 called as an upper shell is located downwardly.
(2) Leading end portions 93 of two. shells 91, 92 of the scallop 90 being conveyed by the belt conveyor is cut by a diamond cutter along a phantom line in FIG. 10A to remove the leading ends as shown in FIG. 10B, thereby forming an opening portion 94 between the shells 91, 92 as shown in FIG. 10C. During the cutting operation, cold water is applied to the diamond cutter to prevent the shells 91, 92 from being heated and to lengthen the service life of the cutter and to prevent cut powder from being scattered. Incidentally, if the shells 91, 92 are heated, the heat will be transmitted to the muscle adductor 95 within the shells, thereby worsening freshness and quality of the muscle adductor 95.
(3) As shown in FIG. 10D, a separating tool 96 such as a spatula is inserted into the scallop 90 through the opening portion 94 along an inner surface of one shell 91 to separate the shell 91 from the muscle adductor 95. The scallop 90 in which the shell 91 was separated is sent outside from the working table.
(4) Parts other than the muscle adductor 95 such as midgut gland, heart, mantle and gonad (referred to generically as xe2x80x9cassociated partsxe2x80x9d hereinafter) attached to the other shell (having a deep curvature and white color; normally called as a left shell) 92 of the scallop 90 sent are removed manually.
(5) The separating tool 96 is pushed along an inner surface of the shell 92 to separate the other side of the muscle adductor 95 from the shell 92 and take out the muscle adductor 95.
Although the above-mentioned muscle adductor taking-out method can facilitate the entire operation and make it efficient more than the manual operation, since the muscle adductor is separated from the shells by inserting the separating tool, the muscle adductor may be scratched, broken or torn, thereby worsening the quality and grade of the muscle adductor. Thus, it is difficult to surely take out the muscle adductor without waste.
An object of the present invention is to provide a shellfish processing method and device, in which meat (including a muscle adductor) of a shellfish is hard to be scratched, the muscle adductor is hard to be broken or torn and can be taken out easily and perfectly without damaging the muscle adductor, a processing operation can be performed sanitarily, and the muscle adductor, mantle, gonad and the like can be taken out in accordance with a desired commodity form.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a shell opening method in which meat is separated from shells by injecting liquid into inside of the shells of the shellfish.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a shell opening method in which an opening portion is formed in a part of shells of the shellfish and meat is separated from the shells by injecting liquid into inside of the shells through the opening portion.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a shell opening method in which, after one of shells is opened, meat is separated from the shells by injecting liquid into inside of the shells.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a suckingly removing method in which, after one of shells is opened, associated parts such as midgut gland, gonad, mantle, heart, gill and tentacle of a shellfish is removed independently or collectively in part or in total by suction.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a suckingly removing method in which an opening portion is formed in a part of shells of the shellfish and associated parts such as midgut gland, gonad, mantle, heart, gill and tentacle of a shellfish is removed through the opening portion independently or collectively in part or in total by suction.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing method comprises a separating method in which an opening portion is formed in a part of shells of the shellfish and associated parts such as midgut gland, gonad, mantle, heart, gill and tentacle of a shellfish is removed through the opening portion independently or collectively in part or in total by suction, and, thereafter, meat is separated from the other shell by injecting liquid in the shellfish.
According to further aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned shellfish processing method, there is provided a method in which an opening portion is formed in one or both of two shells by removing a part of the shell or shells by a cutting operation or by perforating a part of the shell or shells or by breaking a part of the shell or shells by pressurization.
According to further aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned shellfish processing method, there is provided a method in which small fragments and powder of the shell produced when the opening portion is formed in the shells is removed by suction or liquid washing.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing device includes an associated part removing mechanism for suckingly removing associated parts such as midgut gland, heart, mantle and the like independently or collectively in part or in total from a shellfish in which one of shells is opened.
According to further aspect of the present invention, the shellfish processing device includes a transporting body for transporting a shellfish, an opening mechanism for forming an opening portion in a part of shells of the shellfish transported by the transporting body, and an associated part removing mechanism for suckingly removing associated parts such as midgut gland, heart, mantle and the like of the shellfish independently or collectively in part or in total through the opening portion.
According to further aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned shellfish processing device, there is provided a first separating mechanism for separating meat of the shellfish from a shell by injecting liquid into the inside of one of the shells.
According to further aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned shellfish processing device, there is provided a second separating mechanism for separating the meat from the other shell by injecting liquid into the inside of the other shell.